Iran's IRGC says US troops in 'glass room' after Trump threat: What to know
The comments follow President Donald Trump repeating his assertion that the United States will “bomb” Iran if it does not agree to a new agreement on its nuclear program.
A top commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened US forces in the region on Monday, marking the latest in a series of escalatory remarks as President Donald Trump seeks to pressure the country into a new nuclear deal.
The head of the IRGC aerospace force, Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, made the comments during the Eid al-Fitr prayer in Tehran.
“The Americans have at least 10 bases around Iran in the region, which accommodate some 50,000 forces. This means they are sitting inside a glass room,” said Hajizadeh, the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency reported.
The United States has around 40,000 troops deployed in the Middle East at bases in Iraq, Syria, Qatar, Bahrain and other countries in the region, The New York Times reported last September.
On Sunday, Trump vowed to bomb Iran and place “secondary tariffs” on the country if it does not agree to a new nuclear deal.
“If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing. It will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before,” Trump told NBC News.
Hajizadeh’s comments were in response to Trump’s remarks, according to Tasnim.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Monday that the United States and Israel would “certainly receive a heavy blow in return” if they were to strike Iran. The Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the charge d’affaires of the Swiss Embassy in Tehran on Monday to complain about Trump’s comments, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
The United States and Iran do not have formal diplomatic relations, and Switzerland represents the US government in the country.
On Sunday, the pro-government Tehran Times claimed that the Iranian armed forces have readied missiles with the “capability to strike US-related positions” in response to Trump’s remarks.
Why it matters: Iran received a letter from Trump in mid-March. The contents have not been made public, though Trump has said it included pleas for Iran to negotiate. Iran first responded to the letter on Thursday. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran is open to "indirect talks" but will not directly negotiate under pressure.
"Our policy is still to not engage in direct negotiations while under maximum pressure and military threats. However, as it was the case in the past, indirect negotiations can continue," said Araghchi, per the Islamic Republic News Agency.
Iran insists its nuclear energy program is for peaceful purposes, though the United States, Israel and others have accused Tehran of seeking to build a nuclear weapon. The International Atomic Energy Agency said in February that Iran has increased its production of near weapons-grade uranium.
Trump imposed additional sanctions on Iran in February, describing the measures as part of a strategy to deny Iran a nuclear weapon. The US president withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018 and is now seeking a new agreement with Iran.
On Sunday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran is open to “indirect” talks and delivered a response to Trump’s letter via Oman.
“We responded to the US president’s letter via Oman and rejected the option of direct talks, but we are open to indirect negotiations,” said Pezeshkian during a cabinet session.
Since returning to office in January, President Trump has repeatedly called for Iran to negotiate, stating that a deal would be preferable to "bombing." Iran has largely dismissed Trump’s threats while holding a flurry of military drills and unveiling new weapons this year. Most recently, the IRGC unveiled a new “missile city.”
Know more: In a sign of rising tensions, the United States deployed B-2 bombers to the Indian Ocean last week, following the earlier deployment of B-52 bombers to the Middle East in March.
Later on Monday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval forces seized two foreign tankers in the Persian Gulf.
In a statement, the IRGC said “the two tankers, with a total of 25 crew members, were systematically involved in fuel smuggling in the central waters of the Persian Gulf and were collectively carrying over 3 million liters of smuggled diesel fuel.”
The statement added that the two tankers were being brought to Iran’s southwestern Bushehr Port.
The country or countries where the tankers are registered remain unknown, but Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency reported they were named “Star 1” and “Winteg.”
In January of 2024, Iran seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker. According to Iran’s state media, that seizure was a response to the US seizing the same ship in April in accordance with its sanctions on Iranian oil.
